Sprout
by FallenAngelFreddie
Summary: After Finch is taken by Root in 1.23, he finds himself in a forced partnership with his worst enemy and Mr. Reese finds himself in league with Root's supposed ex-partner, Sprout, in a fight to prevent an international crisis and save Finch from whatever terrible fate awaits him if they fail.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey Guys, I'm back! This time with a take on the season finale and since the show won't be back on until the Fall, this gives me plenty of time to play around with a set point in time. I've kinda been dabbling with this little "sprout" of an idea ever since Root Cause, but now I've found the perfect way to incorporate it. Hope you enjoy this little teaser. Updates may not be too frequent quite yet, but this will be a fun one. ;) -Freddie

Disclaimer: PoI and all the show's characters are not mine. The story and Sprout are mine though.

Prologue:

Reese stood there, staring. Staring angrily, challenging the machine to respond to him. Challenging the very thing that gave him purpose, but gave him just as much pain. He'd done its bidding. Finch had done its bidding. Reese had been shot. Finch had been taken. It was about damn time he had some response from the computer that saw everything, but could do nothing. The machine had eyes and ears, but they were its hands and feet.

"…You're going to help me get him back." Reese said, his eyes fierce and unrelenting. _Talk to me. You talk to Harold. You trust Harold. Harold…trusts me. Talk to me—Please._ Feeling somewhat ridiculous for pleading with a machine, he hadn't wholly expected his challenge to be answered. That was why it startled him so when the phone beside him rang, a caller unknown. He wondered.

He'd seen this before. Finch had merely looked at a camera and seconds later, a public phone rang. It had given him information, he knew. It had to be the Machine. Had it worked? Could it be that Finch's secret was that it was always in communication with him, any phone, any device, anywhere?

Reese approached it warily, waiting a moment before taking it up and bringing it slowly to his ear.

"Hello, John." A sly female voice said. His eyes widened and he froze in place, unnerved that he could have possibly been correct. "I've been watching you."

"Yeah, I know. You have eyes everywhere." Reese smirked. The voice laughed. That was when Reese knew he had been wrong. This was no machine.

"Um, if you say so," she said in confusion. She—not 'it'. Reese frowned. He didn't like not knowing who was on the other side of the line. It didn't sound like the psychiatrist, the little devil in disguise. It didn't sound like anyone he'd met.

"Considering you knew my name and where to find me, I'd say that's accurate." He replied, scanning the area for anyone on a phone. Of course, it seemed as if half the pedestrians were walking and talking. He knew he'd be looking for someone stationary, most likely indoors, hanging around near a window of some kind. He looked up and around at the surrounding buildings.

"Ah, yes. And without your friend, you're a blind man without his guide dog." She taunted. "Finch out-foxed and Reese out-a-job. How ironic…"

Reese could have growled, but instead, he merely smiled and with a slight nod of his head, he had to agree with her. "Not as ironic as your calling me."

"Well, I just figured this would be a good time, considering just a second ago you were talking to a camera like it could help you or something." She shot back, obviously aware of the fact that she had the upper hand. That was exactly what Mr. Reese wished to change, but where was she? It was highly likely she wasn't there at all. For all he knew, she could have been all the way across town. Heck, she could have been halfway around the world.

"What do you want?"

"I can't tell you everything over the phone." She said simply. "Someone could be listening."

"I'm listening." Reese remarked impatiently.

"Good. I recommend taking the subway home, Mr. Reese." A click and a dial tone told him she was done talking, but the conversation was far from over. He headed over to the nearest subway entrance, paid his fare, and awaited the next car that would take him back to his apartment on Baxter Street. A flood of people came off the train, but strangely enough, he was the only one who boarded that car. Odd, considering the hour.

Only a few people remained inside and they too took their leave at the next stop. For a moment, he thought he was the only one left, but just as the doors slid shut a young woman in her early twenties scrambled up to the door in a panic, leather computer bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hold it!" She shouted and Reese stood to keep the doors from closing as she leaped through, barely making it inside before they shut. She'd been running so fast that she failed to come to a stop and ended up slamming into the wall with frightful force.

Just after, the subway took off, but not before several policemen came into Reese's view, no doubt following in her wake. He watched them point and shout, but they were gone, speeding down the track before the officers could reach the car.

"Cutting it close, eh?" Reese smirked knowingly and she grinned guiltily, her face reddening.

"You've no idea." She said breathlessly, her short red hair moistened with sweat beneath a ragged black hat. "Thanks for listening." She added before taking a seat across from Reese and unwinding the headphones from her phone. Surely this was no coincidence. This was who had called him? Honestly, that was not what he'd been expecting.

"No problem." He replied amiably. "Still, I'd like to know who it was I helped evade arrest."

She looked at him from beneath the bill of her hat and Reese stared on back, bidding her to reply before he made a call to a certain detective. He wasn't having any jokes, not today, not when his friend was in the wind with a psychotic psychiatrist.

"For now, a friend…I hope."

"Depends on what this 'friend' is mixed up in."

"Well…I got caught hacking…" She said, trying to play down her crime as she kept her eyes down and fiddled with her phone. Reese eyed her, his expression prodding her to continue. "…a certain agency's security feed…from a certain mission that went down last night." Now that caught Reese's attention.

"You saw everything that happened in the hotel, didn't you?" Reese wondered and she nodded.

"Yes, and because they caught wind of me, I've been accused of causing the cell phone black out as well. Lucky for me though, I happened to be out when the police showed up outside my building this morning and my apartment…combusted." The woman scowled darkly as she looked up at him again and then back down at her phone. Reese hid his surprise with the raising of an eyebrow.

"It seems you've got a bit of a problem, but I fail to see how this involves me."

"Because, Mr. Reese, we have the same problem." She replied and John nodded slowly.

"Root," He stated and the woman dipped her head. "I should've caught onto her. She just seemed so innocent."

"She's good at that." She snorted and her tone grew serious. "We were partners once, until she tried to have me killed, and now she's framed me for this mess."

"You want to work together. You get Root and I get my partner." Reese realized and was met with a determined nod. "Well, then, if we're going to be working together, I should at least know your name."

"You can call me Sprout." She said with a slight grin, but her demeanor changed dramatically as she continued. "Mr. Reese, you should understand that your partner's rescue is only the secondary objective."

"Excuse me?" Reese questioned and she sighed. His heart sank at what she said next.

"If your partner does what Root wants, she could start a war." Sprout explained, deadly serious. "And I will do anything it takes to make sure that doesn't happen...even if it means killing Harold Finch."

Sprout


	2. Chapter 2

Hey Guys, new chapter! Sorry for being so late! Been busy! Also, does anyone else find it slightly ironic that my last story was about Finch being taken by an enemy who knew about the machine and then in the season finale, Finch is taken by an enemy who knows about the machine…and now I'm spring-boarding off of that to write _another_ story in which Finch is taken by an enemy who knows about the machine? Good grief…Anyway, expect about a week in between updates, at least until the end of June, but after that, I think you'll be seeing more updates. Oh, and I hope you like the cover! I drew it. lol. Anywho, enjoy chapter 2 of Sprout! –Freddie

Disclaimer: PoI not mine and characters are not mine. Sprout and story are. :)

"_If your partner does what Root wants, she could start a war. And I will do anything it takes to make sure that doesn't happen...even if it means killing Harold Finch."_

Chapter 2: Suspicious doesn't even begin to cover it.

Reese was left stunned by the sudden revelation. A war? A tech war, sure, but a real war? He didn't quite know how that worked-, but he could make a few guesses. Bringing the machine out into the open, well, that would either spark a domestic feud or an international crisis. He wasn't sure which would be worse. The Civil War had been fought over human rights. Could the next one be fought over rights to privacy? Or worse, could World War III be lurking around the corner when this hit the fan and the world's powers fought for control? Worse still, what did that mean for Finch? It could either mean a criminal death or an international battle of tug-o-war simply to possess him. The thought made him shudder.

Reese pondered all this as the car rattled along the track, asking the tough but relevant questions he hoped he wouldn't have to find the answers to in the near future.

"Look here," Reese started, breaking from his revelry. "You can give your own life to stop this—."

"Gladly," she muttered, almost so low that Reese hadn't heard her, _almost_.

"—but I won't let you take my friend's. If you work with me," he continued, "we'll work to make sure what you're predicting will happen doesn't happen, but we do our utmost to make sure Harold makes it out of this alive."

"Fine," She conceded at which Reese nodded approvingly. "But, right now his life is only as well protected as his will is strong. Root wouldn't kill the only person who knows how to operate the most powerful piece of technology ever built…unless she became that person."

"Then we make sure that doesn't happen…" Reese replied with a grin and she smirked back, but Reese already knew that Finch's will wasn't the deciding factor here. It would be something far more personal. His grin faded into a frown and steadily in scowl as he realized he had a new person of interest, "…and fast."

As soon as the subway came to a stop and people began to board, the mysterious young woman made a break for the exit, but Reese was quick to follow and grab onto her arm.

"Oh come on; is that really necessary?"

"You and I aren't done talking, carrot top." He said smartly and led the scowling—and somewhat naïve—Sprout up to the sidewalk.

"Of course we're not done talking. This is your stop isn't it?" She replied as a smirk made its way to her mouth. "We're not going to wherever your super-secret base is, obviously, and I'd offer up my place as a hideout, but…" Reese raised an eyebrow. Naïve, sure, but she'd definitely thought through some of the particulars. He wouldn't take her to the library, even if it was the most secure place they could be, simply because it would mean she knew of its location. Still, how did he know she didn't?

"I see your point." He conceded and let her go. "But we're not hiding out yet."

"Then what are we doing?" She asked curiously, tipping her hat down to hide her face as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Working." He said simply and then they disappeared into an alleyway. However, he didn't miss the girl's glance upward at something across the street as they went.

****PoI****

Location Unknown:

Finch felt like a broken record. Their whole conversation over a casual breakfast in an empty high-rise restaurant and all he'd said was some variation of "no", whether it be a flat out "No", a polite "No, thank you", an amused "Haha—No", or a trolling (as the young people call it) "Well, maybe—no," and when he grew exceedingly tired, a growling "Hell no." He knew he could do this all day. Root had nothing on him, no leverage, and until she did, he would remain silent…or antagonize her with what little he did say.

"Hhm, so I'm to understand your answer is 'no' then?" The brunette answered after finishing a fork-full of scrambled eggs. Finch stared back coldly, far colder than the look he'd given Detective Carter after she'd gotten Reese shot. Whatever anger he'd felt toward her, he felt it tenfold towards the woman, Caroline Turing, Root, the root of all evil more like. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to pull the trump card, but who I am I kidding?" She grinned thinly. "The business we're in is a messy one, isn't it."

Harold dropped his steely gaze and took up his tea glass, bringing the white china up to his lips. He had to agree with her on that one.

"Yes, quite." He said after taking a sip and setting the glass back onto its plate. "Considering our dealings only take place at the point of a gun." His eyes flickered to her lap, hidden beneath her dinner napkin and she cocked her head to the side pleasantly.

"But if I didn't have a gun, then you wouldn't bother with me." She chuckled and Finch blinked tiredly.

"If all the people I was forced to bother with had a gun, _they'd_ be dead." He stated flatly at which she nodded and sat back in her chair in their secluded corner of the floor, a snort on her lips.

"If that's your way of telling me to watch my back, I have people to do that for me." She said dangerously and Finch nodded lightly.

"You blackmail them too?"

"Of course," she laughed and Finch wanted to throw his tea in her face. "It's the world currency nowadays isn't it? You want something done, get some dirt on them or take something from them and they'll do whatever you want." She took a piece of fruit from her plate and popped it into her mouth before she pointed at Finch. "…and so will you."

"What is it you think I'll do?"

"Help me rule the world—in a way—or at least mess things up a little." She said nonchalantly. The thought of it was laughable, but he merely took up his tea glass as he took another sip. She caught onto this and laughed a little herself. "You think I'm joking. I have a gun pointed at a man who doesn't exist and you think this is all a ruse."

Finch gulped. "Oh, no I just think you're a little," _crazy,_ "ambitious." He finished pleasantly and looked out the window, over the street where he could have sworn he just saw his partner heading out of a subway exit and down an alley with a red-headed stranger, but from six stories up…well, he thought he was just seeing things. Still, his gaze showed how perplexed he was. Then she looked up and Finch thought for sure she was looking right at him. "How did you-?"

"I'm sorry?" Root asked innocently and she followed his gaze out the window. "Oh, that." She held up Finch's phone. "Tracking your employees, Harold?"

"Only when absolutely necessary," He replied as he craned his neck to watch the alley entrance.

"Well," She shrugged. "I always track mine."

"The girl he's with…" Finch breathed and she smiled.

"_May_-be."

"Whoever she is, Reese can handle himself." Finch said adamantly and continued to be stubborn, holding his warm tea cup.

"True, but how long do you think a certain other red-head can hold out against the snipers I have perched outside her house?"

Finch sputtered through his tea.

"Oh, whoops." She chuckled and passed him a napkin, which he ignored as he coughed and reached for the one beside him. "Poo, her name seems to escape me…"

"Grace."

"Yes, thank you." Root grinned and proceeded to take her own phone from her pocket and open a video file of a sniper positioned, as she said, just across the street from her house. "And as an added bonus, I have that handy dandy little app you created on your phone. I think you know where this is headed." She finished and pocketed her phone.

"What do you want?"

Finch remained silent and leered at her as she grew serious and placed her elbows on the table, folding her hands in front of her. "For now, I just want you to say you'll be my new partner."

This didn't make sense. Finch couldn't be her partner. _Never_. But, she wasn't supposed to know about Grace. She wasn't supposed to have a double agent working with his partner. She wasn't even supposed to know about _him_. None of this made sense. What did she want? Money? Power? Power seemed the most likely and Finch had it, but how did she _know_?

A few tense moments passed as they sat there pensively, Root extending her hand towards him. He didn't know how, but the next thing he knew he felt his hand rise from his lap to cross the air and find itself grasping hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey Guys! Love your reviews! They make me smile. :) Happy summer to everyone and here's Chapter 3. –Freddie

Disclaimer: PoI not mine and characters not mine. Song "Amazing Grace" is also not mine. Merely used. Sprout and story are.

Chapter 3: Amazing Grace

As Reese walked briskly down the sidewalk with his red-headed tail, he pulled out his cell phone and waited for Zoey to pick up, constantly looking behind him all the while to make sure his little shadow was outside hearing range. It was a relief to hear the voice of someone he knew he could trust.

"John, I was wondering when I was going to hear your voice again." She greeted.

"Perfect. Now that you're hearing it, it's going to ask a favor of you." He replied and she chuckled.

"Shoot."

"I've made an unexpected acquaintance and I'm not sure what I've got tailing me right now." Reese explained, sneaking a glance back at the girl who was staring at him suspiciously. "She calls herself 'Sprout', an ex-partner of Caroline Turing's." At this, Zoe made an ominous noise of distrust. "She claimed to have seen everything that happened last night, to have been framed by Root herself, and had her apartment blown up this morning."

"I don't like the sound of any of that, John." She commented. "It's just a little too fishy for my tastes."

"I know. That's why I'm calling you." Reese replied. "I want you to follow us, to catch whatever I miss in case her partnership turns out to be a death trap."

"Now that I can do," Zoe assured. "Oh, and John?"

"Yes?"

"How do you know she hasn't cloned your phone?"

At that, Reese hung up and turned around, searching the area for Sprout, but she was nowhere to be found. He doubled back and scoured the area like a bloodhound, but all he got in return was strange looks from passersby. Why did he all of the sudden get the feeling he had just made a grave mistake?

"Hey!" Shouted a voice from behind Reese and a shock of surprise went through him as he turned and found her staring back at him with a confused look on her face. She was simply standing there with a box of cinnamon toast crunch in one hand and the other full of cereal heading towards her mouth. "I'm right here."

*PoI*

Root had wasted no time in explaining herself to Harold Finch. She was, if anything, surprisingly open with him, especially when she knew she had power over him. Reese and Grace were in danger even as he sat there and his only way of protecting them was biding his time as he followed her orders.

"So what exactly is your main objective here?" Finch started over their meal, and she held up her finger as she took a sip of coffee.

"So, you know exactly how many people in the world know about your greatest achievement, don't you, Birdman." She accused and Finch glared.

"I wouldn't exactly call it my greatest achievement, but yes, I do."

"But, you don't know their names, do you?"

"No," Finch said slowly and he started to understand where she was headed with this. "I don't."

"Would you like to? Would you like to know the names of the people who double-crossed you, who killed your partner and ruined your life?"

Finch didn't answer at first, but he found that this question had provoked him. Besides him, he only knew the names of three of the seven other people who knew about the Machine and two of them were dead. Alicia Corwin had been murdered in front of him and Nathan Ingram…

"Yes," he said. He would have very much liked to know their names, to see their faces, and…to cause them the same trouble he had been caused.

"Oh, and it would be all too easy for a man like you to find out, wouldn't it?"

"It would take some time, but I'm sure I could." Finch replied and she smiled.

"Now do see what I'm hinting at?"

"Yes, I do. You want me to help you find and kill the other people who know about the Machine." Finch stated and Root nodded happily. "But then what happens to me and my partner?"

"What partner? I'm your partner now, Mr. Finch." She replied and Finch glowered. "Relax, Harold, he'll be fine."

"And what about Grace?"

"Again, as long as you work with me, she'll be as right as rain." She assured and started as her phone rang at her side. "Excuse me a moment."

She left him alone as she went down the hall and into the restroom to take her call. His mind was left reeling. She expected him to play assassin with her, or rather hire people to kill them. That would cause problems indeed, especially when the people who knew about the machine were powerful figures in the US government.

What would happen when those figures were found murdered?

Chaos.

What would happen when those figures were found murdered by foreign nations?

War.

What had he gotten himself into? Finch sighed and put his head in his hands and did something he hadn't done in ages. He sang of his sweet Grace, the song that he had often associated with her since they first met.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me? I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see…T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear, t'was Grace my fears relieved, how precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed…"

*PoI*

As Reese walked ahead of her talking on the phone, Sprout took to the nearest shop and dialed a number, looking around the little market as she did so and buying a box of cereal. It was done as much to make her appear more innocent as it was to sate her growing hunger for breakfast, which she'd missed.

Finally, Root picked up and Sprout filled her in.

"He suspects me." She said right off the bat and Root growled.

"Then make him not suspect you." Sprout rolled her eyes. If only it were that easy.

"He's calling someone, talking about me to some Zoe person." She shot back in aggravation. "I think he's trying to check my back story."

"Don't worry; your back story's covered. Just do your job and keep _him_ covered."

"And what if she decides to pay a visit?" Sprout asked, taking her cereal from the cashier and standing in the entrance.

"Get her to trust you too." Root responded and hung up. Sprout stuffed her phone into her pocket with a frustrated sigh and focused on re-implementing her disguise, tearing open the cereal box and stepping out onto the sidewalk with a handful of cereal. It seemed she had caused her new partner some panic and she shouted to him.

"Hey!" She cried, putting on a confused facade and he spun to face her from a little ways down the sidewalk. Sprout chewed on some cereal and swallowed. "I'm right here."

"Where did you go?" Reese demanded as he approached her and she raised an eyebrow.

"You were making a private phone call. I was giving you your space." She said and popped a few more squares in her mouth as Reese gave her an incredulous look.

"So you went and bought breakfast cereal to 'give me space'?" He pried and she shrugged and walked off in front of him with a smirk, leaving him with a statement that he would never cease to question.

"What can I say? I'm a cereal killer."


End file.
